


First Tea Party

by DarkSeraphim



Category: Firefly
Genre: Bonding, Female Friendship, Friendship, Gen, Tea
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-27
Updated: 2012-08-27
Packaged: 2017-11-12 23:52:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/497064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkSeraphim/pseuds/DarkSeraphim
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set before the series, Inara is new to the crew and wonders if she can call this place home.  Kaylee comes by to say hello, and the two girls get to know each other.</p>
            </blockquote>





	First Tea Party

**Author's Note:**

  * For [brutti_ma_buoni](https://archiveofourown.org/users/brutti_ma_buoni/gifts).



> Hope you enjoy! I love writing these two!

There were days where Inara questioned the wisdom in renting her shuttle from one Malcolm Reynolds.  It was clear to her very early on that she would be in near constant friction with that man.  He was uncouth and took nearly every available opportunity to remind her that he had no respect for her lifestyle or position.  He had respect for _her_ ; she could at least see that in his eyes.  And perhaps, with a great deal of time, she could even see something refined and even desirable in him.  That wasn’t to say he was an unlikable man.  He cared a great deal for his crew and their well-being, which did indeed extend to the Companion.

 

Inara sighed as she put down her hairbrush.  She wanted to like him.  She truly did.  There was something about him that had attracted her, made her want to rent out the shuttle of a broken down relic of a ship.  She could see this place as a potential new home.  But then she was reminded of how he saw her profession and just made her mad all over again.  One of these days she was going to snap, lose all of her refined behavior and just slap the shit out of him.

 

Her thoughts were broken by a knock at her shuttle door.  She immediately ruled out Mal.  Even when he was being nice he never knocked.  So it was one of the others.  She thought for a moment.  Unlikely to be Wash, unless he was seeking advice to win over Zoe.  The aforementioned second mate didn’t seem like the type to seek a Companion’s company, and Jayne…she sincerely hoped now.

 

“Um, Miss Inara?”  Came the soft, nervous voice from behind the door. 

 

Inara smiled.  That would be dear Kaylee, the genius mechanic.  She recalled the story of how Kaylee was acquired, when Wash oh so generously told her of their life stories.  Apparently they’d had a mechanic before her that was about as useful as a stick, who brought miss Frye on board for some extracurricular activities.  Caught by the captain, who was incensed that his ship was not in the sky by the mechanic’s appointed time, Kaylee then proceeded to not only tell them why that was, but to fix the problem more efficiently and quickly than her temporary beau ever did.  Thus Serenity had a new mechanic. 

 

Inara was intrigued, but rather pleased that the young mechanic had decided to visit her.  She rose and walked over to the shuttle door, dressed in one of her brightly colored silk robes.  She was smiling as she opened the door to a young Kaylee, who had obviously taken a few pains to clean herself up before seeing her.

 

“Why, Kaylee Frye isn’t it?”  She asked, unconsciously adding the musical lilt to her voice as she always did when speaking to others. 

 

Kaylee smiled nervously.  “Yeah!  Glad you remember me, miss Inara.  I wanted to greet you proper, as I didn’t get the chance to before.”  Since Inara was standing a bit to the side, Kaylee was able to see some of the newly decorated inside of the shuttle.  “Wowee, you sure pretty’d this place up nice, huh?”

 

Inara chuckled.  “Well, I intend to make this shuttle into my home.  It is only fitting that I do some remodeling.  It’s not complete yet, but I think it will be soon.”  Inviting the young woman in, she closed the shuttle door behind her, smiling in amusement as Kaylee looked around, bright eyed.  That was something else that intrigued her.  As far as she could see, the young mechanic felt the most at home around clunking machines and grease.  She didn’t seem the type to doll herself up in makeup and wear dresses.  But with the way Kaylee was eyeing one of Inara’s silk curtains, she found that she may have to reassess her opinion on the young woman.

 

“Would you like some tea?  I just made a fresh pot.”

 

“If ya don’t mind…Oh! Was I interrupting something?  I can go…”

 

Inara smiled reassuringly.  “Not at all, Kaylee.  Please, sit.”  She motioned to one of the many silk cushions she used with company.  As Kaylee made herself comfortable, Inara finished the tea that was boiling and sat down with her, also carrying a tray of small treats. 

 

Kaylee fidgeted on the small cushion, seemingly a little unsure of herself.  “So…a Companion, huh?  Must be real glamorous.”  She said as she took the tea cup.  She’d never had tea before, but it smelled delicious. 

 

“Well, I find that the lifestyle suits me quite well.” Inara replied with an impish smile.  “Are you enjoying the tea?”

 

Kaylee smiled and nodded.  “Yeah! It’s real good.  I’ve never had it before.  Tea was a luxury we couldn’t really afford.”  She said with a casual shrug.  It was something rather common out in these parts, out on the fringes.  All of your money and resources went into survival, and that usually meant taking care of the ship first, and whatever was left for food was spent on the cheapest thing they could get…which while filling wasn’t very tasty.

 

As they continued to talk, Inara found that she greatly enjoyed Kaylee’s company.  She didn’t expect to really get close to any of the crew members, but with Kaylee, Inara found herself quite literally forgoing a great deal of her training in conversation.  For the first time in years, she found herself talking like an excited schoolgirl.  Kaylee was quite interested in all the places she had been on the core planets.  Inara was a little more than surprised.  Kaylee loved machines, so much so that it almost seemed as though she could talk to them at times.  She was a top notch mechanic, better in all the verse than any other.

 

But there was a side of her that adored dresses; that idolized the rich, pretty girls; wanted to go to parties and dress up in fancy clothing.  She wanted to do her hair, to put on make up and go dancing with dreamy lords and rich men, if only once in her life. 

 

Kaylee blushed.  She never thought she would ever reveal that little fantasy of hers.  But she just felt so relaxed around Inara, the two of them reclining on the soft cushions and drinking amazingly tasting tea. 

 

“It seems silly, don’t it?”  She asked self-consciously.  “I ain’t exactly the type to go dancing, or be much good at it.  I’d probably look absolutely silly in a dress too.”

 

“Now don’t be silly.” Inara said, a tad harsher than she meant to, but seeing Kaylee talk down about herself like that didn’t sit well with her.  She didn’t like that look of defeat on that young face.  “You would look resplendent in a dress and makeup.  And with a little bit of coaching you would make an amazing dancer.”

 

Kaylee was blushing, but looked at Inara with a sparkle of hope in her eyes.  “…You really think?”

 

Inara reached over and gently rested her hand on the other girl’s thigh.  “I know so.  If you like,” She gave the other girl an impish smile.  “We can try some on now.”

 

Kaylee blushed and giggled, and the two spent the rest of the night playing dress up like a couple of little girls.  It was quite possible the most fun they’d had in ages.


End file.
